


all the time we can take from the world

by indigorose50



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Neck Kissing, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigorose50/pseuds/indigorose50
Summary: [Convincing Ferdinand von Aegir to break a rule was like asking a stray cat to sit in your lap, Felix was learning. You couldn’t make the cat listen to you and it had to work against a lot of old instincts before it would wander over of its own accord— but in the end it would be nice for both of you.It was much the same asking Ferdinand to go for a late night walk.]Or; Felix and Ferdinand end up sharing a bed one night. And many nights after. Until they suddenly can't.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 11
Kudos: 40





	all the time we can take from the world

**Author's Note:**

> This ship has maybe three fans apart from myself but listen. Moeblob gives great ideas. And they get stuck in your head. And then you have to put aside a dozen other WIPs to make one come to life. 
> 
> That said, have this fluff-hurt/comfort-fluff.

Convincing Ferdinand von Aegir to break a rule was like asking a stray cat to sit in your lap, Felix was learning. You couldn’t _make_ the cat listen to you and it had to work against a lot of old instincts before it would wander over of its own accord— but in the end it would be nice for both of you. 

It was much the same asking Ferdinand to go for a late night walk.

“We would be out past curfew!” Ferdinand protested the first time Felix had brought it up. The two were walking back from the training grounds, hand in hand. 

They had yet to tell many people they were — “Courting is the proper term,” Ferdinand had said at the time. Felix, blushing more than scowling, had repeated that it sounded too formal and proclaimed they were— _going out_ , but it was more out of omission than secret keeping. The development of their friendship ever since Ferdinand had been recruited to the Lions was their business and their business alone. Even if Sylvain and Ingrid had been shooting Felix knowing looks for weeks.

“So what?” Felix said with a shrug. “It’s not like we will get hurt or anything. I’d like to see someone try.”

“That is not my point! We will get in trouble. It is against academy rules to be out so late.”

“No one cared how late students were out last month.”

“Last month we were all looking for Flayn. Order has been restored since. Besides, it is up to us of the nobility to set an example by following the rules of the Monastery.”

As whenever Ferdinand roped Felix into an “as nobles we must” lecture, Felix leaned forward and kissed him to distraction.

It still took weeks to convince Ferdinand that being out late would in no way affect the command structure at Garreg Mach. Felix was as satisfied as if he really _had_ been able to get a stray to come out of hiding and settle in his lap.

A walk through the quiet village, exchanging Kingdom and Empire stories about the stars, a somewhat heated kiss in the grass, sneaking through the gates (ignoring the gatekeeper that winked at them as they passed), admiring the moonlight off the pond and smacking Ferdinand in the arm for making cliché comments likely ripped from some opera— it had been very much worth the wait for Felix. Perhaps after the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, he could convince Ferdinand to do this again. There was something about having Ferdinand all to himself, without worrying about giving his friends teasing material or having to split up for class, that was immensely satisfying.

Everything had gone surprisingly smoothly, as far as low-level rule breaking went, until they reached the dorm.

Felix was just wondering how to say “thanks for sneaking around school with me” but in a romantic yet not sappy way, when Ferdinand threw out an arm, prompting Felix to grip his sword.

Footsteps. Down the hall and coming towards them. Felix barely had time to weigh their options before Ferdinand grabbed him and pulled him into a dorm room. A few blinks in the gloom revealed that it was Ferdinand’s room.

“That was lucky,” Ferdinand whispered, his ear to the door. 

“Are they gone yet?”

“I cannot tell but…” Ferdinand shook his head and stood straight. “We should wait a few minutes, just to be safe.”

Felix shrugged. “Fine by me.” 

After removing his sword and placing it against the wall, he sat on Ferdinand’s bed and reclined against the pillows. As a man from the north of Faerghus, the chill of autumn hadn’t bothered Felix much all day. Ferdinand, on the other hand, was shivering as he sat beside Felix. 

“Do you mind if I get ready for bed?” Ferdinand asked just when Felix was starting to wonder if he should wrap an arm around Ferdinand to keep him warm. Instead Felix nodded and turned his head politely so Ferdinand could change. 

Once out of uniform, Ferdinand climbed into bed, pulling the blanket over him with a relieved sigh. Felix chuckled. “It’s really not that cold.”

“I beg to differ.” Felix’s smile was fond as he watched Ferdinand stubbornly curl up until just his head was peeking out. After another moment of quiet, Felix stood. 

“Are you leaving?”

Ferdinand’s question was laced with disappointment. Felix hesitated in the middle of the room. There was likely no danger to leaving; whoever had been passing could have left the dorm and come back by now. But Felix found himself simply taking off his jacket and boots and clambering back beside Ferdinand. “Not yet. I should stay here tonight. Just to be safe.” 

He slid under the blanket, back pressed against the wall to give Ferdinand as much space as possible. It was his bed after all. “Is that alright? Me staying?” He asked quietly after he was comfortable. 

Instead of a lecture about how inappropriate bed sharing was between unwed couples or some such nonsense, like Felix was half expecting, Ferdinand merely smiled. “It is fine with me. Are you warm enough?”

“It’s practically boiling in here,” Felix teased. That drew a sleepy glare from Ferdinand that Felix chuckled at. He paused before saying finally, “Thank you for, well, rule breaking with me. I know that was hard for you. Did you enjoy yourself?”

“I did. More than I imagined I would.” Ferdinand shifted forward to kiss Felix’s forehead.

The warmth, the comforting scent of pine needles and weapon oil that was unique to Ferdinand, the overwhelming sensation of being cared for; it seemed to cocoon Felix and he sighed as his eyes drifted shut. “I’m glad. We should break more rules.”

Ferdinand chuckled, resting an arm over Felix’s torso. “Do not get greedy now.” 

He yawned and Felix curled in closer. “Good night, Ferdinand.”

“Sweet dreams, my dear Felix.”

* * *

Maybe it was the breath on his face that woke Felix up. Or the sheets that felt like his but were definitely not. Perhaps it was how warm he was— how almost _too_ warm he was. Whatever the reason, Felix’s eyes slowly opened as consciousness returned for the day.

Still asleep, face inches from his own, was Ferdinand. Felix couldn’t help but stare. Ferdinand was normally glowing, so full of life and slightly-obnoxious good will. Just now, however, his usually smiling jaw was slack, perfectly set hair askew, one arm under the pillow and the other around Felix. 

It was so peaceful that Felix went on staring for far too long. 

When Ferdinand began to stir, Felix rolled onto his other side, eyes resolutely on the wall as if he hadn’t spent a good few minutes cataloging Ferdinand’s expression. The arm around Felix tightened. “Good morning,” Felix mumbled, trying his best to sound like he too had just woken up.

Ferdinand’s good morning was much too slurred to be considered a greeting. He pulled Felix closer and nuzzled into the back of his neck. “Tell me we still have some time,” he murmured into Felix’s ear. 

“We still have time,” Felix said back. Anything to drag out this sleepy moment, to have a Ferdinand curled around him that wasn’t hyper about what others thought of them.

It lasted all of a second before Ferdinand pushed away from Felix so fast that Felix heard him land on the floor. 

Felix sat up. “What the hell was—”

“You have to leave!”

“Excuse me?”

“You must leave before the others awaken! Go back to your room, quietly as you can!”

Before Felix knew it— the door to Ferdinand’s dorm room was shutting in his face, he was holding his jacket, boots, and sword, and the hallway was absolutely quiet.

With a sigh, Felix trudged off to his room. It was about the time he usually got up for training anyway. He would change and go downstairs for his warm up exercises in a few minutes. Hopefully Ferdinand wouldn’t be too flustered to spar with him.

A smile stretched across Felix’s face at the memory of a fast asleep Ferdinand. He decided then that it was infinitely more rewarding to have Ferdinand curl up with him than a cat.

* * *

As the year progressed, Felix and Ferdinand went for late night walks many times, and shared a bed more times than that. There were kisses in the Goddess Tower one fateful night. Anxious glances and bloodied palms on weapons in the Sealed Forest. Nightmares to be soothed away after a visit to the Tomb. 

And then all out running from Garreg Mach to the tune of an ancient creature roaring.

* * *

It was not under after the bodies of the bandits had been dealt with, after a meeting that revealed just how unstable the Boar Prince had become, after a round of hugs as more students joined the original Blue Lions, after the Professor dodged half a hundred probing question on where they had been for five war-torn years, after the sun started to peek threateningly over the horizon— it was not until after _all that_ that everyone was free to sleep.

Sylvain led the sluggish charge back to their old dormitory, Ingrid dragging her feet behind him. Mercedes, Ashe, and Annette split off for their own rooms. Felix didn’t bother to keep track of old classmates after that— most everyone had shown up for the equal parts horrific and consoling reunion. Swords heavier than ever on his belt, Felix climbed the steps and dragged himself down the hall to a familiar door.

Inside, Felix’s room looked more a mess than any uninhabited space had a right to look. A layer of dust covered every visible inch. Nothing of obvious value had been left behind. The most useful thing in the room was the moth eaten blanket still covering the bed.

Every part of Felix yearned to pass out on the spot, to set aside any anxiety about tomorrow in favor of sleeping off his various aches and pains. But more powerful than his fatigue was a sudden overwhelming _hatred_ of being in this room. Alone. 

Felix pulled off the blanket and shut the door and turned back down the hallway. He traced his fingers along the doors of the now abandoned rooms, reflecting on how many times he had snuck past these very rooms early in the morning. _This_ early in the morning sometimes. 

It only took one knock for Ferdinand to open his door. They stared at each other for a moment, Felix marveling at how long Ferdinand’s hair has gotten and Ferdinand’s eyes tracing over his traditional Fraldarius attire. 

Without a word, Ferdinand stepped aside. This room was not much better off than Felix’s but it had the benefit of housing the man he’d missed every hour for five years straight. Felix pulled off his armor and weapons, laying them carefully in one corner of the room before throwing the extra blanket over Ferdinand’s bed. The stupid southerner got cold way too easily. That had likely not changed, even if the rest of the world had.

Felix tugged off his boots and climbed into bed. Unlike the first time they had done this, Felix shamelessly watched as Ferdinand also readied for bed. His undershirt was so stained with sweat and blood that Ferdinand peeled it off and tossed in quite un-noblily onto this desk. Bare chested, showing his old surgery scars and several fresher ones, Ferdinand settled beside Felix. His arm draped comfortably over Felix as it had so many times so long ago.

They were too tired to even wish each other good night. The last thing Felix remembered was pressing closer when Ferdinand gave a full body shiver, tucking his head under Ferdinand’s chin, feeling a rush of satisfaction as Ferdinand signed contently and tightened his hold.

* * *

A sense of urgency woke Felix up this time. 

A sense of needing to gather his things and run from the room, to jump from the bed before Ferdinand could drag him out and race down the hall before anyone else was up.

But it had been years since Felix had needed to do that. When Felix opened his eyes, the person beside him was no school boy with a fear of faculty. Wavy hair stuck to Ferdinand’s cheek, a cut above his eye from yesterday had scabbed over, the sunlight through the window elongated his lashes, and the dust floating around the room was no longer oppressive but a perfect backdrop to a slumbering Ferdinand.

As always, Felix did not let himself stare too long. He wasn’t some creep who watched his boyfriend sleep. Or at least he wasn’t a _caught_ creep yet. Gently as he could, Felix turned in Ferdinand’s embrace to face the wall. 

The action seemed to wake Ferdinand anyway. He tugged Felix closer as he drew in a long breath through his nose. Any lingering urge to hide back in his room fizzed out as Felix felt warm lips press against the back of his neck. 

“Good morning,” Felix said.

His only reply was another kiss. They lay there in silence for long enough that Felix feared Ferdinand had gone back to sleep. It wouldn’t be the worst thing. Once or twice someone passed by the door but neither moved or commented. 

“Who knew it would take war to give us a peaceful morning together?” Ferdinand asked with no small amount of amazement.

“I wouldn’t call it peaceful,” Felix countered. “Every bone in my body hurts from the march here yesterday. Not to mention how much running around we had to do to take out that bandit leader.”

“Mhm.” Another kiss. “I guess that just means we have to rest here longer then.”

“I guess so.”

Felix turned to face Ferdinand and leaned forward for a real kiss. Familiar fingers curled into Felix’s hair as Ferdinand opened his mouth to him. 

There was a war outside, fresh horrors and battles aplenty— but for the first time ever, there were no rules to break. No reason to sneak away. Nothing to drive Felix and Ferdinand out of bed. 

**Author's Note:**

> (the barest hint of trans Ferdinand and I dearly hope to make a proper fic with the concept someday)


End file.
